Beyond the Courtroom: Joseph Benson II's Journey to Becoming Nevada’s Gold Standard in Personal Injury

Photo: Ben Bingham (left), Joseph L. Benson, II (right) / Benson & Bingham

Joseph Benson is not new to the world of litigation. Born in Las Vegas — a rare occurrence — on the Nellis Air Force Base, Benson’s father was in the military, and the head of legal JAG (Judge Advocate General) offices on the base. After his parents’ divorce, Benson moved up to Northern Nevada with his mother where he was raised in Lake Tahoe. While Benson’s father paved the path for him to follow his footsteps into law, Benson first took to hospitality — mostly due to the job opportunities that came with the nature of Las Vegas. He attended the University of Las Vegas (UNLV) and trained at the Four Seasons. After working numerous late nights and holidays, it quickly became apparent to him that the hospitality industry was not something he wanted to pursue as a long-term career. 

Once the hospitality dreams were left in the dust, he pivoted and began interning for his father. His father had stopped practicing military law after he retired from the military and went on to open his own practice just a block down from Nellis Air Force Base. Unbeknownst to him, this is where Benson would find out that his life would become that of a lawyer. 

After a tragic aircraft accident en route to Louisiana left many children without parents, his father decided to take on personal injury law as a full-time practice. Benson had helped his father during this time and this really helped open his eyes to how impactful personal injury lawyers could be in the lives of those who were grieving and struggling to find the normality in their lives again. His first step towards this new life path was at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, CA — where his cousin and future business partner, Ben Bingham, would also attend law school.

Photo: Benson & Bingham

Benson and Bingham ended up passing the LSAT and found out at the same time, in October 2000, as they were playing the 18th hole at Pebble Beach — a distinctly fond memory that they share. Without a moment to spare, Benson returned to Las Vegas to work for his father for three years. In 2003, after his third and final year, he decided it was the right time to spread his wings and start his own firm with his cousin, Ben Bingham. In 2004, Benson & Bingham Accident Injury Lawyers, LLC was established, starting modestly in a rented house on 6th Street in Downtown Las Vegas. With a focus on becoming premier Las Vegas car accident attorneys, the firm has since grown significantly in both reputation and success.

“I don’t want to date myself but when we started, you know, the Yellow Pages were still a thing. The double truck Yellow Page was the key or the back cover of the Yellow Page — if you had that and you were a lawyer, you were probably doing very well. So we jumped into that trap and we were about 50 pages deep into the attorneys in the very back and nobody ever found us that way.”

Working with family can be one of the toughest situations to be in but Benson believes respecting each other's strengths and weaknesses is the secret to a healthy partnership with someone so close to you. As he reflects on his experience working alongside Bingham, he believes that their ability to always put the practice first is what has brought them the most success in the 20 years they’ve been business partners. 

“It’s a super interesting dynamic with that. There are times where he disagrees with me and I disagree with him but it’s like a marriage, you just have to have those ups and downs and understand each other but at the end of the day you’ve got to put the business first. And we know a couple of lawyers who just recently broke their partnership. I think it was 15 years at least, so you know, it happens. You just have to keep the office going and you both bring your own skill sets to the firm.”

Over the past few decades, technology has moved the dial at a rapid rate in nearly every industry and Benson feels it as a lawyer. Many business owners find it difficult (and oftentimes frustrating) to keep up with the breakneck pace of the newest tech advancements but Benson and Bingham know that the only way to stay organized and relevant is to have a great staff and to embrace the changes around you. This openness to change and grow has been the key factor in their firm’s longevity. This is how Benson & Bingham has become The Gold Standard for Personal Injury™ in the State of Nevada.

To learn more about Benson & Bingham, follow them on Instagram or visit their website